Three cheers for Tahira

Tournament victories are not the only thing you can credit Tahira with. In the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) ranking list that included girls from Hong Kong and Lebanon,she was ranked the number one under-14 player in 2009. At just 13,Tahira could boast not only of having toured three countries to play ATF tournaments but also of winning titles there. She won doubles titles in both Syria and Jordan last year and lost the singles final tie to Jasmine Kaur Bajaj from her own academy. At a U-14 ATF tournament in Malaysia last year,Tahiri reached the semi-finals.

Tahira started playing tennis when she was seven. “I liked watching the game a lot,so I started playing tennis in Chandigarh just as an evening activity. I came to Delhi when I was nine and I told my dad I want to continue playing and he registered me with the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association.” For Tahira,who lives in South Extension,the nearby Siri Fort tennis grounds became an obvious choice where she now trains under the Mahesh Bhupathi Team Tennis (MBTT) programme.

Injury worries

While Tahira reached top of ATF rankings in her age group,a spate of injuries last year forced her to skip many AITA tournaments which caused a slip in her rankings. From her previous best of 13 in the U-14 national category,she has slipped to 50th. Her longtime coach Aditya Sachdeva,however,says he is not worried about her AITA ranking right now. “Rankings are not a cause of concern. She has just turned 14,she has a lot of time to make that up.”

Regarding the tournament-training balance for his ward,he said: “For me a mixture of both works but as a coach I would want to give this time to her game development and sharpening her skills,tournaments will be life long.” And Tahira who practices for four hours everyday and follows it up with one hour of fitness training is surely taking that advice seriously.

Out of the U-14 category after she crossed the age this month,she is off to get a feel of the next category circuit later this month when she leaves for U-18 nationals in Chennai on August 23.

Thanks to her coach and the MBTT tie-up,Tahira has got a Wilson sponsorship for her kit and racquets and has only today got a confirmation from Adidas to sponsor her as well. Asked about her best stroke,coach Sachdeva says “she is good at both the flanks (forehand and backhand),we are trying to get her to move in to the net and volley more.” He adds,“there are very few girls who can hit the ball as hard as she does. I would say that she has so much power that she can throw you off the court on her day.”